The Post picked up seven awards at a Society of Professional Journalists regional conference held at Ohio University this past weekend.
Ohio University hosted a Society of Professional Journalists regional conference this past weekend, bringing students from Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania to campus for a day of extra-curricular journalism education.
A slew of awards were up for grabs at the conference, and OU was represented well among the winners. Before all else, I would like to congratulate our peers at Backdrop Magazine for winning the “best student magazine” honor, and Southeast Ohio Magazine for being a runner-up in the same category. The Post is in good company when it comes to OU student media.
OU claimed 13 awards at the conference. Here’s how The Post fared:
- Finalist, best all-around daily student newspaper
- Finalist, editorial writing
- Winner, breaking news reporting (10,000-student plus university)
- Finalist, feature writing (10,000-student plus university)
- Winner, general column writing (10,000-student plus university)
- Finalist, sports column writing
- Winner, online opinion and commentary
I’m proud that The Post placed in so many categories, and I’m especially happy for Meryl Gottlieb, Jessica Ensley and Colin Hanner, who received individual awards. Each are well-deserved.
The topic of award-winning journalism is often discussed among journalism students and faculty. One school of thought is that news organizations should plan in advance for awards, allocating time and resources to special projects that are likely to impress judges. Another school of thought is that each story should be conceived with the reader in mind — not judges, plaques or pat-on-the-back columns.
I’m partial to the second opinion, and I’m proud The Post was recognized for journalism that was undertaken with the goal of educating and entertaining our readers. While awards are certainly nice, they’re second-rate recognition when compared to the feedback that we receive from readers who appreciate our efforts. Please — good, bad or otherwise — feel free to drop us a line to let us know how we’re doing.
As always, thanks for reading.
Jim Ryan is a senior studying journalism and political science and editor-in-chief of The Post. Contact him at jr992810@ohio.edu or on Twitter at @Jimryan015.
